Saw this earlier this AM
They have been selling off for months, so not surprising, but still sad
I see were Dallas mustang parts went out of business as well.
I also see were California mustang went out of business
I wonder if anyone bought the crushed car that looked like it coulda been a crushed 68 Shelby.
Not "could have" been a 1968 Shelby
Was a 1968 Shelby
http://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=7349.msg61624#msg61624
That car could be straightened out and back on the road in no time. Just like Jimmies car will be...
Quote from: Bigfoot on February 27, 2020, 08:08:25 AM
I wonder if anyone bought the crushed car that looked like it coulda been a crushed 68 Shelby.
Why the reason behind all the closings? Are people not restoring as many Mustangs as before? I thought that industry was still strong.
Maybe too much competition?
...and places like CJ sell the poorest quality parts are still there!!!!
I think less people care about "OLD" cars, since it is so hard to get them restored.
FoMoCo getting aggressive with lawyers (again) to restrict the use of the MUSTANG name in the name of the companies - Plus you gotta pay the man licensing & royalty fees or your done
Will we need our own 3D printers to keep our cars running?
I've always had good luck with NPD and also Tony Branda (RIP Tony, we miss you). Having said that, I did deal with Mustangs Unlimited years ago and never had an issue. Also attended a few of their car shows in Connecticut and had a good time. Hopefully things have stabilized and we won't see things continuing to fall.
Ford allowed companies to use the word Mustang in their names for too long to force any
changes at this point. Went through all of this in the early 90's and Ford was out of luck
then. Some companies started to change their names, but nothing ever happened because
Ford had missed the time frame to enforce their ownership of the Mustang name in regard to
businesses. Ford did start a making companies pay a royalty for trademarked parts that
were reproduced following GM's lead.
They are still selling on a popular auction site as carsandmore3.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/carsandmore3/m.html?item=383147379895&hash=item59355d0cb7%3Ag%3ACP8AAOSwmzFdeS-v&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
Also, does these mean the restoration parts suppliers have reached their limit? Most, if not all the cars that need parts are done or near complete and the hobbyist have moslty stopped buying. I like to hear from Brant on his assessment of the market place.
Cory
Maybe the tariffs on China based repo parts did them in. 8)
No to all of the above. ITs sort of like wall mart or amazon, the big boys survive, the little mom and pop stores cant compete and close their doors. They all sell basically the same parts so who do you buy from?
I hope Virginia Classic Mustang survives. 8)
Brant rocks!!!!!!!!
I had a small Mustang business 15 years ago but after a while my regular job required a lot of travel so I closed up. The problem these large businesses have is that a large amount of mustangs have been restored to one degree or another and they generally are not driven much and no longer require constant parts replacement or upgrades so sales are way down plus the cost of running a business is way up and with the internet its hard to stay competitive.
Chris called me 30 years ago and wanted to know why I wasn't buying parts from him.
Business in general peaked in 1986. Everyone had money. It has been sliding down since. The graphs don't lie.
It almost stopped completely under Clinton and fell off a cliff after 911 and never came back.
Producing and selling "hard products" here is no longer a way to profits. Becoming some kind of a banker is. You invest the money and make your profits on the interest. It's called a sophisticated economy. Unfortunately not everyone can be a banker and some of us need to be paid well for our knowledge and skills.
Shelby restoration parts we discuss here every day. Production line original, correct date codes, etc, etc. I gave up on calling MU honestly 20 years ago.
The person at the other end of the phone generally speaking had no idea what I was asking for.
$3500 Mustang coupes no one bothers with any more. Even on a Shelby, you have $100k either in parts or your own labor in the car. You are going to find the best original parts you can find for it.
Hoverman NEVER was into those details. Never. Time just caught up.
There was a hole in the reservoir and the water just leaked out and it dried up. There's a point at which a hot dog truck on every corner doesn't work any more.
It is sad to see the passing of these things we cherish. It represents the gradual passing of our own lives. I believe that one day most of our cars will be dust with a few survivors here and there that will be relegated to museums along with other surviving artifacts of ancient civilizations. There is no market anymore for Roman chariot parts and I doubt any of said chariots have even survived the ages. They were used up and perhaps marveled at for a period of time then discarded.
I stand corrected. One was unearthed in Croatia. "Unearthed" is the operative word here.
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8115-191017-croatia-roman-chariot
In the words from Blade Runner: Revel in your time here.
Again, places like SEE JAY sell garbage products for less, you have to really search their site for the "better" repro crap. Nothing fits, my resto guy says he rather polish, straighten, clean up original parts (at a cost, mind you), and use them because repro garbage just does not fit. Have you ever tried to instill window repro moldings? I find that Branda, (hope anyway), Virgina, and a few other places will back their parts up. When you call SEE JAY, they don't know what you are talking about! Short story....I bought a rear bumper for a 66 Mustang, it would not fit, I measured the position of the holes for the bumper mounts, they were off, way off. I called them up and they would send me a new one, but they would not refund the money for the old one, unless I shipped it back to them at a cost of over 20$. The same with 2 magnum 500 rims I bought, BENT, they would not even exchange them, I never ordered from them again. I have a collection of wrong parts from all the "discount" Mustang places...yet people want to save a buck and put garbage on their cars. Thus the good places who usually try to sell the "good" stuff suffer.
My 10 cents on this topic is, the increase of the value on these cars has caused the increase of demand for NOS parts.
We "rich" guys don't want reproduction parts on our cars and NOS availability is getting worse by the day.
Texas Swede
As an aside, since it would appear the enthusiasm for our cars is waning with subsequent generations, perhaps being buried in one's Shelby becomes a more viable option. Like the ancient Roman chariot. Archeologists will puzzle over the dig. This appears to be a fossil fuel burning vessel from the latter part of the 20th century. The parts all appear original (little would they know). The owner was buried with the vessel in a ritual we believe they held sacred from that time period as a method to bring the owner into the afterlife with great speed and a means to garner favor with the goddess of combustion.
^^^ ;D
As an addendum, one wonders how the threat of burial may all of a sudden generate renewed interest in vintage cars. Save the Shelbys!
I wonder if the vendor closings are partly because fewer folks are putting many miles their car.
When I bought my car in '83, these old Mustangs were a common sight - just another cool, old "used" car. Daily usage wears parts out or subjects them to damage that warrants replacement.
These days, I see very few '65/'66 Mustangs on the street, so maybe there's less need for replacement parts.
The cost of parts and labor as escalated substantially and may be why not as many classic Mustangs are being restored, especially non-specialty (GT, HIPO, etc.). It seemed that prices for parts in the 70s and 80s were pretty stable for a long stretch, then prices appeared to increase at rate higher than inflation.
Ther does not seem to be any interest in the Fox body ponies either. They were popular in gigh volumes for years with a rarity being a 5.0 that did not have any modifications. The supercharger wars made them so popular at quarter mile tracks and even at SAAC conventions in the 1990s. 8)
I have a different view of the reason for the closings. Most of these businesses have been around
for 30 or more years. The owners have reached retirement age. The smaller shops either close
or are bought by larger shops. The really large shops have to look for people who can afford to
buy out the multi-million dollar inventory. Not too many folks with the money and enthusiasm for
retail businesses these days. The folks in a position to buy are also looking at retirement and
say to themselves, boy if I were younger I would get into the business, but why tie up my
money now. Retail is so cutthroat today with the internet, it takes a lot of internal fortitude
to jump into the fray.
As to the statement concerning purchasing of NOS parts, I recently spoke with many of the
vendors who only deal in NOS and they all said business was slow.
Just my view from 35 years of experience in the business.
I am a Mustang trader in the UK, a few observations
I buy ALOT of parts. Not unusual for my orders to be $5-$10k. I sell dozens of Mustangs a year
1) the quality of reproduction parts is nothing like the original stuff and I regularly am replacing non Ford Parts for new. Items such a interior door handles, exterior door handles, bumpers, bumper guards, turn signal switches and arms, steering wheels......I am taking off perished and rusted items. This leads me to believe the market is getting a quicker turn on returning customers as the parts folks are buying are not lasting and thus needing to be replaced
2) even though lots of cars have been restored, they are needing to be re-restored. I buy plenty of cars (just one yesterday actually) with a huge receipt file of parts previously bought and you can easily see the car needs another 5k worth of parts. So demand is not dropping due to all the cars being restored, If nothing else the need for replacement bits is growing due to a quality issues on the parts put on restored cars already. I try my hardest to convince the customers that want "all new chrome" that leaving on the original tidy but not show chrome appearing stuff is a much better decision.
3) I have 4 projects on the way and sold my previously purchased project a few weeks ago. It seems like there are more and more cars coming out of the woodwork. I only see prices increasing rather than a lack of cars to buy. Although there is a lack of cars for me to buy at the prices that make sense for me but I am easily paying 20-30 percent more for cars than just a few years ago
Just a guy at the coal face (of non Shelby/hipo) Mustangs giving his opinion
I buy, sell, trade, many Mustangs myself. Today we live in a world where you need the tri- fecta to be competitive. Most require good parts, good price, knowledgeable people helping accomplish your car goals. The big boys are able to help most of the time, mom and pop shops I have tried to support over the last 40 years but they cant compete with those goals. We can call Brandas- CJ - NPD and get what we need , no fuss no muss. The little guy doesn't stock the parts, or doesn't know what your talking about, bends you over on shipping and a multitude of other problems that don't help you obtain your goals in a timely manor. What I do miss with the little guy vendor, is having a cup of coffee or having a beer over hows life in the Mustang world, then the topic always returns to I don't know how I can keep my doors open competing with the major parts suppliers. :-[
Quote from: Don Johnston on February 27, 2020, 09:27:02 PM
I hope Virginia Classic Mustang survives. 8)
Thanks! I'll be here! :)
I was asked to weigh in on the subject, but I'm certainly not going to talk about Mustangs Unlimited's closing.
My dad and I started our business in the late 1970s. It was a different time. There was no Internet. The hobby was very young. I like to say we were fortunate to "grow with the hobby". There were not as many parts available, and there were not as many people selling parts.
Like a lot of things, the hobby grew over the years. Ford no longer supplied parts, and more parts were reproduced. As technology progressed, businesses got "bigger" (like a lot of other type of businesses...banks, for example).
I'll add that more parts being reproduced certainly isn't a bad thing. Actually, it's a great thing. The key is to know which parts are good, and which parts are not so good...like everything else. That's where a good company that you can trust is important. That's super important to some customers, and not others.
I'll also note that there are so many more parts available for these cars and available at a reasonable price.
For me personally, our philosophy here at Virginia Classic Mustang is just to treat people right by offering great customer service. First, we have to figure out the direction a particular customer wants to go in. Not everyone is interested in the exact details that most folks who are reading this want. Others, of course, are very interested. We feel it is our job, based on the customer's goal, is to direct them towards the "right" parts for their project. That said, there are many parts that I absolutely will not handle due to their inferior quality. There are other reproduction parts available now that are as nice or nicer that an NOS Ford parts. Some parts also sometimes change. It's a lot to keep up with. It's also quite a bit of a task to keep a ton of parts in stock like we do. If someone wanted to start a Mustang parts business today, it would be difficult to do.
I can't even touch the surface in a little post of a few sentences about my thoughts on the business and hobby. I could say a lot more. Heck, I've been doing this over 40 years. I think the hobby is certainly still strong, and I'm just going to keep doing it the way I have described above.
That's why I have been doing business with Brant and VCM since 1985 ;)
Darn. Out a year's worth of remaining subscription on Mustang Monthly and now there goes my store credit at Mustang Unlimited. Sigh ....
"7 years of college down the drain...."
Quote from: Brant on February 29, 2020, 03:40:54 PM
Quote from: Don Johnston on February 27, 2020, 09:27:02 PM
I hope Virginia Classic Mustang survives. 8)
Thanks! I'll be here! :)
Brant can last at least another 5 years on just what Ive spent last year :) And he has good people working there.. Michelle and Robert do good work !
+++++1, regarding Brant and Virginia Classic Mustang. Their customer service is phenomenal! In fact, I just received an email today about a return...it's Sunday! I'm certain this person is not on the clock. That speaks volumes to me (not that I expect that!).
And, what's most important to me is when a supplier can create a relationship of trust (as Brant mentioned); which VCM has done in spades.
It's funny - when I purchased my Carryover in April of last year, I got a folder FULL of restoration / parts receipts. Many of the receipts are from people who are still in the business, and VCM is no exception. In fact, I texted Brant pictures of some of the receipts, and he even recognized his own hand writing from the mid 80s!!
There's a reason why some companies stay and some companies go - it's the same with any industry. Customer Service (to me) trumps everything else. Period.
Thanks, Brant!
One last thing...there is a HUGE difference between those who just sell parts for a living and those who are passionate about these cars. To me, that separates the wheat form the chaff.
Quote from: David Hillman on March 01, 2020, 08:01:07 AM
Darn. Out a year's worth of remaining subscription on Mustang Monthly and now there goes my store credit at Mustang Unlimited. Sigh ....
Why out a year? I emailed them (Email is in the front few pages of the mag), gave them a full copy of my mailing label. they refunded my remaining years. Since I'd used a credit card, they put the credit back to the card. I'd emailed over the weekend. Money was back on my card the next Wednesday.
I first started dealing with the T-bird parts store in Livonia Mi 4 decades ago that was then bought out by NPD. I have been fortunate that NPD is LOCAL to me and I can drive and see the parts that I am buying. Because of my long German name I just give them my Customer number which is a very low 3 digit number(4 decades almost) and is the same as a Chevy RAT engine. I have went from very knowledgeable friends working there to some that do not know what I am talking about so when that would happen I would talk to my old friend Scott who does their 65-73 Mustang catalog to get the low down on parts and such. I have used mail order on other Mustang stores over the decades also. Branda and Shelby Parts(Jim) also. With dynacorn bodies and seeing so many projects on my Facebook Mustang groups i'd say there are still a lot of people with projects and restorations going on. A lot of young people also. Where this hobby goes is anyone's guess. Gary
Chris at Mustangs Unlimited has a facebook posting selling the remainder of their inventory for 80K. Last time I looked it there wasn't much worth having.
Quote from: shelbymann1970 on March 02, 2020, 06:32:08 AM
I first started dealing with the T-bird parts store in Livonia Mi 4 decades ago that was then bought out by NPD. I have been fortunate that NPD is LOCAL to me .............
Gary,
I was the 1st employee of Gary Bassett ( owner of T-Bird Parts Store ), and talked him into getting into the Mustang market as we saw the 2 seater T-Bird market had matured into slow growth.
Gary had been a buyer at Ford and still had connections with folks in the supply chain.
Thru George Shirf (sp) we found the shop in Plymouth that still had Ford's 67 shelby mold tooling and other such finds.
It was an exciting time in the emerging business, and looking back many missed opportunities !
regards,
jim p
QuoteAll those concourse divisions are nothing but the sign how much money you have and are willing to spend on car.
I must respectfully disagree with you. I can't speak for any one but myself but I don't have loads of cash. What I did have was a desire to have my Shelby restored to the highest standard that I could afford and attain. It has been a part of my family for 50 years (my 1st born) and she deserved no less. I'm sure that there are some very wealthy people who do as you state but I'd be willing to bet there are more folks like me that just want the best that they are able to have. My Shelby would have been a great unrestored car but like a dummy I disassembled it in the early 80's and then I found how expensive it is to restore a car so it went into storage until my children were grown and college paid for. Then I saved until I could afford to complete the restoration.
Sorry for the rant but I couldn't resist... :)
TOB
Quote from: 6R07mi on March 02, 2020, 01:37:59 PM
Quote from: shelbymann1970 on March 02, 2020, 06:32:08 AM
I first started dealing with the T-bird parts store in Livonia Mi 4 decades ago that was then bought out by NPD. I have been fortunate that NPD is LOCAL to me .............
Gary,
I was the 1st employee of Gary Bassett ( owner of T-Bird Parts Store ), and talked him into getting into the Mustang market as we saw the 2 seater T-Bird market had matured into slow growth.
Gary had been a buyer at Ford and still had connections with folks in the supply chain.
Thru George Shirf (sp) we found the shop in Plymouth that still had Ford's 67 shelby mold tooling and other such finds.
It was an exciting time in the emerging business, and looking back many missed opportunities !
regards,
jim p
Thanks for the history Jim. I was bummed when they moved NPD from Livonia to Canton but the drive isn't that much further from Novi. By any chance did you know Mike Michalski? Gary